Nobody plans a murder out loud
by Snavej
Summary: Yasuhara: [flirts with Mai] Oliver: [staring at them silently] Gene: You're really quiet today, Oliver. Oliver: [still staring] Nobody plans a murder out loud. [High School AU]
1. Chapter 1

"Hey, how are you doing?" Yasuhara asked Mai as he sat down beside her at one of the large study tables.

He smiled easily and leant forwards so that he was a little too close to Mai for Oliver's liking. Not that what Yasuhara was doing was any of his business, of course. It wasn't like Oliver was watching them from two tables away. No. He was doing his maths homework.

"Hey, yeah I'm okay," Mai replied. "Wish the weather was a little better though."

It wasn't like Oliver was trying to listen in. But Mai happened to speak a little louder than the average person. Even if they were in the school library.

"Yeah, it sucks. I don't think I've ever seen the library so full at lunchtime." Yasuhara laughed. "Your hair looks nice; you got it cut, right?"

He reached up and curled a bit of the hair framing her face between his fingers.

"Uh, yeah," Mai said. Her cheeks reddened a little. "I didn't think anyone had noticed." She shrugged and looked away. "But it's almost summer, so I thought getting it cut shorter would be better, you know? I don't want to overheat… At least," she took another glance out of the rain-streaked window, "it was supposed to be almost summer."

"That's smart," Yasuhara said, releasing Mai's hair and ruffling his own. "I ought to get my hair cut soon too. Don't want a hot head during exams."

Mai beamed at Yasuhara's use of the word 'smart'.

_So easily pleased_, Oliver thought. He looked down at his work and relaxed the grip on his pencil.

"Aww, but your hair is really soft."

Oliver's head snapped up to see Mai running her hand through Yasuhara's hair.

"Oliver?"

"It's not that soft," Yasuhara objected. "Not as soft as yours."

"I've been using this new shampoo," Mai said as she retracted her hand. "You should try it. It helps with tangles as well, not that you have much issue with that."

"Oliver?"

"No, not really," Yasuhara said. "I do comb it sometimes though."

"That's more than most boys I suppose," Mai said with a laugh.

"Noll?"

A sharp jab in his side caught Oliver's attention.

"What?" he spat at his brother.

"I've been trying to get your attention for, like, a minute," Gene complained.

"So?" Oliver returned his gaze to Yasuhara and Mai. "I'm busy."

"You're glaring at them and being creepily quiet."

"Nobody plans a murder out loud," Oliver muttered.

Gene rolled his eyes.

"Why are you going to murder them? Because they're being loud? I'm sure the librarian will tell—"

"Not them, just him," Oliver corrected.

"Why?"

"Because he's bothering Mai."

Gene appraised the situation.

"I mean, she looks like she's enjoying his company."

A low guttural noise escaped Oliver's throat.

"She's masking," he muttered. "Lots of girls do it so they don't upset men that might turn violent."

Gene bit back his laughter.

"Yeah, because Yasuhara is definitely the violent type."

"He might be for all she knows," Oliver said. "Lots of people thought our father wasn't…"

This thought sobered Gene, but he powered on.

"I… I don't think she would have asked him to tutor her if she wasn't comfortable with him."

Oliver's head spun around to fix his brother with a penetrating stare.

"She asked _him_ to tutor her?"

"Yes?"

"How do you know that?" Oliver demanded.

"She told me? We're friends? Well, we talk sometimes. That's kind of friends, I guess," Gene said with a shrug. "Either way, I don't think he's bothering her."

"He doesn't need to touch her so much if they're supposed to be studying."

"Just because you don't like people touching you doesn't mean everyone else hates it," Gene pointed out.

Oliver scowled.

"It's common courtesy not to go around grabbing people's hair and invading people's personal space."

"It's also common courtesy not to stick your nose into other people's business." Gene shrugged once again. "You're awfully interested in making sure Mai, of all people, is comfortable. I mean, she's just a random Year Eleven, right? She doesn't mean any more to you than that, right?"

"Right," Oliver stated.

Unseen by his brother, Gene smirked.

"Good, because between you and me, I think Yasuhara is interested in Mai, you know? I think he fancies her."

"That's great."

"I think they'd make such a cute couple, don't you?" Gene asked, trying to suppress his smile. "They get along so well. He's smart and funny and handsome. She's cute and friendly and—"

"Could do better."

"Huh?"

"She could do better than him."

"How? He's top of his year and—"

"She just could," Oliver stated.

"I can't think of anyone better. Besides, he looks great in a suit, and her Year Eleven prom is coming up so I'll bet she'll want a date. You've spoken to her a bit, right? Do you know if she's friendly with any other guys? Other than me and Yasuhara of course. I'd hate for her to end up going alone. I think she knows John but other than—"

"Yes, I have spoken with her. On several occasions. She never mentioned other boys. She certainly did not mention him or you."

"Really? That's odd, given how friendly they are. Maybe it just didn't come up. I suppose she's not that close with you."

Oliver's gaze and shoulders dropped. He looked down at his work and scribbled a few more lines of arithmetic. Unseen by his brother, Gene bit his lip. He narrowed his eyes at Oliver and tentatively went on.

"I might suggest to Yasuhara that he asks her; what do you think?"

"Do what you want," Oliver muttered. "I don't care."

"You seemed very interested in her affairs a minute a—"

"Yes, when I was concerned that she was uncomfortable but as you've assured me that they're close and that there is no issue that he's touching her far more than necessary, I no longer care."

"Are you okay? You sound a bit tense?"

"I'm fine."

Gene fell silent and focused on his own book for a few minutes.

"If he doesn't ask her, I might," Gene said. "I think it'd be a fun evening. Our prom was fun, wasn't it?"

"No."

Gene laughed.

"What do you think? Should I ask her if—"

"You seem very interested in her affairs. Are you sure that you don't fancy her?"

Gene laughed again.

"Me? Fancy her? I don't think so—"

"Why not? What's wrong with her?" Oliver asked. "You couldn't do much better."

"I would pref—"

"Shut up," Oliver hissed. "You would be lucky to have someone half as nice as she is and you know it."

Gene smirked.

"You think very highly of her, don't you?" He cocked his head to one side. "Are you sure that _you_ don't fancy her?"

Oliver opened his mouth to argue, but no words escaped. So he shoved his belongings into his backpack, stood up and walked away from his brother.

The only way out of the library was to pass by Mai and Yasuhara's table. He picked up a few words of their conversation as he walked by.

"...got anyone to go to prom with yet?"

Oliver's pace quickened. He made it to the door. He paused, hand hovering over the door handle. His blood pounded in his ears. He turned and stepped towards Mai and Yasuhara. He stopped himself. He turned back towards the door.

He had to make a decision. He had to do something now. He had to—

And then he was standing beside Mai and Yasuhara.

"Oliver?" Mai looked up at him, eyes full of concern. "Are you okay?"

"I need to speak to you."

"Okay? Right now?"

Oliver nodded.

"In private," he added stiffly.

Mai turned back to Yasuhara.

"Excuse me, I'll be back in a minute."

"No problem, I'll be right here when you get back," he said, smiling.

Oliver led the way out of the library and into one of the private study rooms where they would not be interrupted.

"So what's the problem?" Mai asked.

"Go out with me."

Mai's eyes widened.

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Yes, I did," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "But I believe it's customary for you to _ask_, rather than demand."

"You can refuse a demand if you want," Oliver stated. "Either you want to date me or you don't. I don't care either way."

"You don't care?"

Oliver swallowed.

"No."

"So you demanded I date you without care for whether it happened or not?" Mai did not give Oliver a chance to reply. "You know, perhaps if you had asked me nicely, I might have said 'yes'. But given the way this conversation went, I don't think I want to. Yasuhara asked me if I wanted a date for prom and I think I migh—"

"Not him."

"What?"

"You can't date him."

"I can't? What? You're not allowing me to? Who do you think you are to—"

"He doesn't deserve you."

"What? And you do?" Mai asked, her brows furrowed and voice raised. "You think the best I deserve is someone with no manners? At least Yasuhara is polite!"

"Polite? He kept touching you! Without consent and it's entirely inappropriate at school."

"He's my friend!" Mai objected. "It's fine if he…" Her voice faltered. "Oh my… You're jealous, aren't you?" she accused.

Oliver scoffed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? And what is ridiculous about being interested in me to the point where someone else interacting with me makes you jealous?"

"I'm not jealous," Oliver stated and looked away.

"You're…" Mai shook her head in disappointment. "Forget it."

She turned and made to leave the room.

"Are you rejecting me?"

"It's hard to reject a question that was never asked," she said over her shoulder. "But your own feelings are hardly forthcoming or encouraging. You don't care, remember?"

Oliver pinched his brow and took a deep breath.

"Mai. I… Gene kept… He kept saying things. I couldn't think straight. I—"

"So what? You decided to be rude and insult me?" Mai asked, spinning around and refolding her arms over her chest.

"It was not my intention to do either of those things."

Mai raised an eyebrow at Oliver and there was a moment of silence. She sighed.

"What was Gene saying?" she asked.

Oliver frowned, but answered the question.

"He was pointing out how friendly Yasuhara was with you and how close you were and questioning my reactions and…" He scowled and looked away as he realised. "He was trying to wind me up."

"And you walked straight into the trap…" Mai looked down at her feet. "So Yasuhara asks if he can come and study with me—"

"He asked you?"

"Yes?"

"Gene told me you asked him to tutor you…"

"So," Mai resumed. "Yasuhara asks if he can come and study with me in the library where he knows you'll be and Gene comes and finds you and winds you up…"

"They were in it together," Oliver surmised.

"You look like you want to swear at them."

"No comment."

Mai laughed.

"Well, I reckon we should have some fun with them," she said. "I think I might go back in and tell them exactly how badly you screwed this up…"

Oliver nodded slowly as he absorbed this information and spoke his affirmation without much thought for the words escaping his mouth.

"Okay."

"What I won't tell them is that if you want to try asking me out again sometime, I might be more receptive. Especially if it's a question and not a demand," she deadpanned.

"You'll give me a second chance?"

"Yes," she said. "I believe in second chances. And I don't think you're a bad person. I also plan on getting my own back on Gene and Yasuhara..."

"You do?"

"Yes. Like I said, I'll go back into the library, tell Yasuhara how you fucked up and then be extra friendly with him."

"How is that…?"

"I do not fancy Yasuhara," Mai said, beginning to smirk. "But your brother does."

Oliver frowned.

"Really?"

"Yes, didn't you know?"

Oliver shook his head.

"No, I didn't. Though that would explain a few things… So you will play along with their wind up to make things awkward for them," he surmised.

"Exactly," Mai said.

A slow smile spread over Oliver's face.

"If you'd like to tell me about how it goes, I know a tea shop not too far from the school."

Mai beamed.

"I'll meet you at the school gates after classes end then."

Oliver nodded, and they parted ways.

* * *

**Author's note: So I have ideas for a sequel, but I'm only going to write it if this gets enough interest... So please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Oliver did not look up as the brunette plonked a tray on the table and sat down opposite him. She poured the tea into two cups and then added milk and sugar to her own.

Oliver picked up the milk- and sugar-less cup and sipped at it.

"Well?" he prompted. "What happened then?"

Mai smirked.

"Well," she began. "They certainly did not expect what hit them…"

* * *

Mai stormed back into the library and sat down next to Yasuhara with a loud huff.

Yasuhara's eyes flickered from Mai to Gene and then back to Mai.

"Are you okay?" he asked. "What happened?"

"That…" Mai spluttered in rage. "I can't even think of a word bad enough. Can you believe this? He _demanded_ that I date him. He didn't ask or anything. Can you believe it?"

Yasuhara's eyes widened in horror.

"Well—"

"And then," Mai continued, "he told me he didn't even care about me or whether or not I dated him! It's ridiculous! I thought he was okay before but after that… Well, I certainly do not want to even be just his friend."

Yasuhara swallowed, his eyes still wide.

"That's—"

"I'm so glad you're not like that," Mai pressed. She touched a hand to Yasuhara's forearm and batted her eyelids at him. "You're polite and kind and a gentleman."

"Well, thank you, but—"

"I mean honestly, in this day and age what kind of man thinks he can just demand things like that from a woman? It's like feminism doesn't even exist or something."

"Did he say anything else?" Yasuhara asked, wincing in anticipation of the reply.

Mai sighed and shook her head dismissively.

"Nothing worth mentioning I don't think. He mumbled something about tutoring or something. I don't even know."

Yasuhara bit his lip.

"Oh… He did mention you though," Mai added as if it was an afterthought and not a well thought out choice of words.

"Me?"

"Yeah. I think he was jealous of how close we are," she said, touching his forearm again. "Like, even if he had _asked _me instead of demanded, does he really think I would go out with someone that would be jealous of me having other male friends? I wouldn't give up your friendship for anything. You're really special to me, you know?"

"I'm touched." Yasuhara's chin sunk into his neck.

Mai ignored his discomfort.

"And on that note, I was wondering if you wanted to get a coffee sometime. You know, just us?"

She smiled demurely up at him, eyes wide and hopeful.

"Uh… Yeah… Sure."

"Great! You have my number right? Are you free this weekend?"

Before Yasuhara could reply, a new voice joined the fray.

"Do you mind if I join you?"

Both Mai and Yasuhara looked around to see Gene.

"Oh my, for a moment I thought you were Oliver come back to torment me again," Mai said. "Of course you can join us Gene."

"Torment you?"

"Yes, first he interrupts me and Yasuhara, then he demands I date him and tells me he doesn't care about me and… Well, I thought we were friends. But I don't even want to know someone who is going to treat me like that. Can you believe it?" She shook her head sadly. "Fortunately," she added with a smile, "I know much better people."

She hooked her arm through Yasuhara's and rested her head against his shoulder.

Gene's face struggled to contain itself. He settled for gritting his teeth and pursing his lips.

"Wow, yes. That does sound— I mean Oliver isn't— Did he really do that?"

* * *

"And you said?" Oliver prompted.

"Well 'yes' of course," Mai replied. "I elaborated thoroughly on all the worst parts of what you said. Gene looked horrified."

Oliver sighed.

"I'm going to get such an earful from him later."

"Oh no no," Mai said. "You have to play the part of being utterly distraught and frustrated. You know you said the wrong things but the words just came out of your mouth before you could stop yourself and now you've ruined your chances and all that."

"Right."

"And you have to emphasise that it's all because he wound you up, but that you don't blame him because it wasn't intentional, of course. Then he'll feel super guilty."

Oliver appraised the young woman in front of him.

"How do you know to do all of this?"

"Honestly, Masako. She went to an all-girls school before moving here and she taught me a lot about people…"

"Right… I do not know if I ought to be concerned…"

Mai laughed.

"But I didn't tell you the best bit."

"What was the best bit?"

* * *

As lunchtime drew to a close, Mai packed up her belongings.

"I better run, I have English now and it's the other side of the school."

"Yeah," Yasuhara said, his voice stiff.

"Text me about our date, yeah?"

Gene, who had just taken a sip of water from his water bottle, began choking.

"Yeah," Yasuhara forced the word out. "See you later."

* * *

"How was that the best bit?"

"Because I did not leave. I snuck around so I was hiding in the next aisle behind the books and I listened to their conversation."

"And what happened?" Oliver asked.

* * *

"So… You're going on a date with her?" Gene's voice asked.

Mai could not see them through the bookshelves, but she could hear her two friends.

"Well, I guess so. She asked! What was I supposed to do?"

Gene did not reply.

"You told me to flirt with her! It's not my fault your brother screwed up asking her out! You told me it would work!"

"I thought it would!" There was the sound of a head hitting the desk. "What will you do? She thinks you're into her…"

"Well Mai's nice… I'm sure going on a few dates will her will be fun."

"You're going on a few dates with her?"

The pain was palpable in Gene's voice.

"Well, I can't just… I mean… We were talking about prom…" Yasuhara sounded sympathetic. "Maybe I can use this time to convince her that Oliver is okay really…" he suggested. "Though after that tirade it will be difficult. He really screwed up…"

"Will you take her to your prom too?"

"Huh?"

"Well, your Year Thirteen prom is not long after her Year Eleven one," Gene muttered. "Will you take her to that?"

"I… Well it would be weird if I didn't… Especially if everyone — including her — thinks we're dating."

"Right. Sure. I have to go." Gene's voice was thick with emotion. "See you."

"Gene, wait—"

But from the hurried sounds of steps, Gene had not waited.

* * *

"He sounded really upset."

"He deserves it for plotting behind my back," Oliver muttered. "He might even be so consumed with his own pain that he'll ignore me…"

"You sound hopeful."

Oliver smirked.

"Perhaps."

"Would you have ever asked me out if he hadn't prodded you?" Mai laughed before Oliver could reply. "I say that as if you actually asked…"

Oliver scowled at her.

"Probably not. I had no reason to."

She frowned.

"No reason?"

Oliver shrugged and his face resumed its usual neutral expression.

"You were happy as you were. I was happy as I was… Romance is not something I have much experience with and… I do not deal well with change. And I am still yet unaware of your feelings so..."

Mai smiled sympathetically.

"Well, if you want to just stay friends, I'm okay with that."

Oliver nodded.

"We could just hang out a bit more?" Mai suggested. "Although not this weekend until I know what time my fake date with Yasuhara is…"

"You plan on going?"

"Of course! I will make them suffer to the fullest extent!"

"At what point will you stop?"

"When they admit what they did," Mai said. "And then I'll admit that we played them—"

"You played them."

"You will have to do it too, you'll have to play it to your brother that you're distraught and all."

Oliver appeared displeased with this fact, but did not argue it.

"You're uncomfortable with it?" Mai prompted.

"I am not proficient in knowing where the line is… In my youth, I have taken a joke too far and—"

"In your youth? How old are you?" Mai asked, eyebrow raised. "You sound like an old man."

"I'm older than you."

Mai rolled her eyes and sipped at her tea.

"Yeah, by like a year. So do you want to meet up this weekend?"

"Perhaps," Oliver replied. "Depends when it is, I suppose."

"Well, give me your number and I'll let you know when I'm free."

"What's this, the second time you've asked someone out on a date today?" he asked.

"You'll notice that I said it very quickly so that I got the words out before I lost my nerve," Mai replied. "I think I'm getting better at it."

"Hmm."

"Masako was telling me about this thing called a hundred days of rejection. And it's like you try to get rejected from things to learn to accept failure and stuff. And I don't think I could do a hundred days in a row but I like the idea. Because we all fail at times. So I've been trying to put myself out there a bit more, you know?"

"You value her friendship, don't you?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah. I mean, she basically admitted to me that she was a bit of a bitch at her old school to the point where she kind of had to leave. And then after moving she did a lot of self reflection and reading and stuff. So she's quite aware of herself, you know? It's nice to have someone like that in my life."

Oliver nodded.

"It's quite funny really," Mai went on. "She admitted to me a few months into our friendship that if I had been at her old school she would have hated me… Funny how things work out. Sorry, I'm rambling."

"It's fine."

"That's what people say when they're bored and don't want to sound like a dick."

"And you think common courtesy would stop me, of all people, from sounding like a dick, as you so elegantly put it?" Oliver asked, smirking.

Mai chuckled in spite of herself.

"I suppose not." She sipped at her tea again. "You know, considering how much of a mess this could have been, I think this whole debacle has worked out okay."

"Yes, considering my earlier transgressions, I strongly suspected you'd never speak to me again." Oliver finished his tea. "What… Why didn't you just leave? You asked me what Gene did instead of just leaving."

"Because of the regret in your voice when you mentioned Gene," Mai said, shrugging. "I told you I believe in second chances and well… What you said seemed out of character. Not like… I mean I could totally believe that you said it. But I don't know. I think I would have felt bad if I hadn't given you a chance. That way, if you'd come out with something dumb, I could have left and not felt bad about it."

Oliver frowned.

"You're too kind, you realise that, right?"

Mai blushed.

"I'd rather be that way. And I'm not always that nice."

Oliver did not bother to argue.

"What will you do if Yasuhara falls for you?"

Mai frowned.

"What?"

"Well, you said that Gene likes Yasuhara, right? Do you know that he likes him back? Yasuhara likes Gene back, I mean?"

"Oh… I…"

"I mean he agreed to flirt with you—"

"To wind you up. I don't think he would have done that if he actually fancied me," Mai said, though she continued to frown. "Like that's a cruel thing to ask of someone if they actually liked them. Gene wouldn't have done that to Yasuhara."

"Unless Gene did not know. Yasuhara is an extroverted person, but he doesn't share a lot."

"Yes he—" Mai cut herself off. "You're right. He doesn't… But I still don't think he would have agreed. And he looked super uncomfortable when I did start properly flirting back at him. If he'd been into me, he'd have enjoyed that."

"Not everyone would have enjoyed that…" Oliver muttered.

"No, but Yasuhara would have," Mai said.

"You still haven't answered my original question, what if he does fall for you? Future tense."

Mai pursed her lips.

"Then I will deal with that when it comes to it. I'm kind of hoping I can be annoying enough that that won't happen."

"Oh well that you will certainly exceed in…"

"Oi!"

Oliver chuckled.

"What do I owe you for the drink?"

"Oh, nothing. It's fine."

"Mai—"

"You can pay for the drinks on our next date then."

Oliver raised an eyebrow, but agreed with a nod.

"I better be off," he said. "I think I've been out long enough to convince Gene that I have been moping in a corner somewhere. Perhaps I'll walk home via the park and see if I can provoke some hayfever induced tears to really emphasise the—"

"Would you really cry over being rejected?"

"Well no, I don't really cry, but because of that, Gene would then find the sight of me having cried much more painful. If he thought his actions had actually caused me to cry then…"

"Are you sure Masako hasn't been giving you lessons too?" Mai asked.

Oliver smiled.

"Message me when you know about this weekend," he said, standing up. "See you soon."

"See you soon, Oliver."

* * *

**Author's note: So when I wrote the first chapter of this and posted it, a load of you wanted a second chapter. Chapter 3 is written, and I'm working on 4 now... This isn't my best work. I'm out of practice at writing and everything is tough right now because staying at home and all that. So be nice and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

"Are you quite all right, Gene?"

Gene lifted his head from the dining room table and gave his mother a deadpan stare.

"No."

"Would you like to talk about it?"

"No."

He let his head fall back to the table with a dull thud. How could she possibly understand?

"Okay then. Well, do you know where your brother is?" Luella asked.

"No."

"Sorry, what was that?"

Gene lifted his head up and repeated, "No," before letting it fall yet again.

"Don't do that, you'll hurt your head. And it's almost five-thirty," Luella went on, "And he still isn't home."

As if on cue, the front door opened. Luella hurried from the dining room to the hallway to find her other son kicking his shoes off.

"Where have you been? I was worried sick about—"

"I texted you."

"What?"

"I texted you to inform you that I would be going to a cafe for a cup of tea. I needed to clear my head."

Luella frowned.

"Have you had a bad day too?"

"Too?" Oliver questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Your brother is moping in the dining room. Perhaps you can cheer him up."

Oliver nodded, left his bag on the second step of the stairs, and entered the dining room to find Gene where Luella had left him.

"I'm not moping," Gene mumbled into the table. He rolled his head to look up at his twin. "You look as shit as I feel. Have you been crying?"

"Why are you moping? You were fine at lunch," Oliver accused. "It's not as though you were rejected by the person you liked."

Gene winced.

"I heard about Mai."

Oliver sat down opposite Gene, who, still opposed to actually bearing the weight of his own head, rested his chin on the table so he could see his brother.

"Yes, I'm sure you did."

"Did you really demand she date you and then tell her you don't care about her?"

"Yes."

Gene winced again.

"Why?"

"Because I am inept at social interactions."

"Yes, but you're not that bad."

"I am when I am upset, it turns out." Oliver sighed. "Why are you moping?"

"I'm not moping."

"Oh really?"

"Yasuhara's going on a date with Mai!" Gene blurted.

His eyes widened in panic. But Oliver only looked down at his shoes.

"Oh. I see." Oliver swallowed. "I thought… You seemed very supportive of them earlier."

Gene floundered for words.

"I was— I mean— That— I— That was before I knew you wanted to ask her out!"

"How empathetic of you."

"You sound like you're mocking me."

Oliver did not deny it.

"I'm going to go and change before dinner," he said. "Perhaps you ought to do the same. You're worrying Luella."

Gene groaned into the table and forced himself to his feet.

* * *

After dinner, Gene knocked on his brother's bedroom door. When they first moved in with the Davises, they were given separate rooms. It lasted the entirety of one day. For the very first night, Oliver crept into Gene's bedroom and they slept together in the same bed.

Luella and Martin bought them a bunk bed after that. They shared a room until they hit puberty when they decided together that separate rooms and personal space might be preferable. Though this rule was barely enforced. They sauntered in and out of each other's spaces as if they were their own.

But today, Gene knocked. He knocked because he knew Oliver might be upset, given the whole Mai incident.

"Come in."

Gene entered. Oliver was sat on his bed, back against the headboard and a book resting on his propped up knees.

Gene clambered onto the bed and hugged his own knees. Oliver did not look up from his book, but Gene could tell he was not really reading it; his eyes were not moving

"Mai and Yasuhara are going on a date on Saturday afternoon," Gene stated. "He just texted me."

"And you're telling me this because…?"

Gene shrugged.

"I thought you might… I don't know…"

"You thought I might like to know about how someone else is fortunate enough to date the girl I like?"

"Sorry."

They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Gene spoke again.

"You ever do something to try and be nice to someone else and then realise you've just hurt yourself in the process?"

The sentence had not ended how Oliver had expected it to, and it threw him a little.

"I… What do you mean?"

"Mai and Yasuhara are going on a date," Gene repeated.

"I don't follow."

"I…" Gene lowered his voice. "I like Yasuhara."

"He's your friend," Oliver replied in an even tone. "People tend to like their friends."

"No," Gene insisted, his voice still quiet. "I _like_ like him."

"Oh… Why didn't you ask him out then?" Oliver asked.

"Because…" Gene floundered for words. "He… I don't know. I'm an idiot."

"Agreed."

"Says the person that demanded the girl he likes date him and then tells her that they didn't even care out about her…"

"Says the person that provoked that person until they were so upset that they could not navigate the social situation they were provoked into… And thus provoked another person to ask out the person that this person was interested in."

Gene scowled.

"I was quite content as I was," Oliver went on. "I was quite content not dating Mai. I was quite content just being an occasional friend to her."

Genes scowl morphed into a look of pain. Oliver continued to stare at his book.

"You knew I liked her," Oliver said. "So why did you point out her interactions with someone else who is a nicer person and more worthy of her…? Especially someone who you yourself have a crush on?"

Gene could not answer. He could not even bring himself to open his mouth to try and answer. Instead, he stared at his feet.

"You were just making us both miserable." When Gene still did not reply, Oliver went on, "I think I want to be alone now. Go away."

Gene nodded slowly and shuffled to the door.

"Sorry," he mumbled and then left.

Back in the safety of his own room, Gene flopped onto the bed.

Tears flooded his eyes and he wiped them on his pillow, knowing full well that it would make it wet and soggy. He did not care. He deserved to suffer the discomfort of a wet pillow.

How had it all gone so wrong?

It was supposed to be a bit of fun. Yasuhara flirted with Mai. He wound Oliver up. Oliver asked out Mai. Mai and Oliver lived happily ever after…

And maybe he and Yasuhara might have…

But now. Now, Yasuhara was going on a date with Mai. Mai hated Oliver. Oliver was devastated and didn't want to speak to him. He felt like the worst brother in the world.

Why wasn't it like in the romance books?

Not that Gene read romance books. No. Too many straight people in those…

Well except Monty and Percy in The Gentlemen's Guide… Well, those two were just… And it was kind of an action mystery book, right?

But just like Monty, Gene had screwed up.

Screwed up, hurt everyone's feelings, including his own and he was now wallowing in his own self-pity.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through the messages until he found the latest one from Yasuhara.

**Yasuhara 3: Going to a cafe with Mai on Saturday.**

He stared at it.

Because of course, Yasuhara did not _know_ about Gene's feelings for him. Gene had tried to flirt and sometimes even been on the cusp of telling him but…

But what if Yasuhara did not like him back.

What if Yasuhara did not like boys…?

Gene tried to bite his lip, but failed due to the presence of the pillow pressed against his face.

He could not decide which was worse. Yasuhara not liking boys, or Yasuhara being into boys but just not liking him…

On the one hand, it would mean he never stood a chance and it was nothing he did. On the other, he stood a chance but was obviously not good enough in some way.

Either way, it sucked.

* * *

**Oliver: I think we need to change the plan.**

Mai frowned at the text.

**Mai: Why?**

She had to wait for a reply.

**Oliver: You were correct. Gene does like Yasuhara. He is upset. I think we ought to take the moral high ground.**

He took far longer to reply than Mai thought he ought to have done for the amount of text she received.

**Mai: So? What do you want to do?**

Again, he took a long time to respond, which Mai found mildly infuriating.

**Oliver: Could you find out if Yasuhara likes Gene in a romantic sense? I don't care how. But I can't deal with him moping.**

Mai sighed. Oliver was right. And she hated it.

**Mai: I'll see what I can do.**

What could she do? If she asked, it would be too obvious.

And thus the solution presented itself; she phoned Masako.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I need your help," Mai answered. "It's a problem with boys."

"Mai, I'm a lesbian, I don't know what to—"

"Gene fancies Yasuhara. I need to know if Yasuhara feels the same way back."

Mai heard Masako gasp.

"Well, if you'd started with that… Why don't you just ask him?"

"Because the pair of them tried to play a prank on me and Oliver and it backfired on them without them realising and—"

"What?"

Mai sighed and explained the whole affair from start to finish.

"So now you're going on a date with Yasuhara? Who Gene fancies? And Oliver is okay with that?"

"He was happy just being my friend."

"You'd think, considering how up himself that boy can be, that he'd have a bit more self-confidence."

"He's only confident with science and maths and stuff," Mai said.

"Do you like him?" Masako asked.

"Of course I like him."

"But do you _like_ like him?"

"I…" Mai faltered. "I don't not _like_ like him?"

"Uh huh…" Masako laughed. "Okay, well I will find out what I can from dear Yasuhara…"

"Thank you."

"What will you do if he does like Gene?"

"Set them up, duh."

"And if he doesn't?" Masako asked.

"I… I don't know."

Mai bit her lip while she thought about this potential problem.

"I'll let you know," Masako said finally. "Bye."

"Yeah, bye…"

Mai hung up and jumped onto her bed. She lay back and began searching through her photos. She found some of her with Yasuhara. They'd be friends for ages. She found other photos with groups of people, some of which included the twins.

One photo stuck with her. It had been from last summer. They'd all gone to the park nearest the school and someone — Mai was not sure who — had insisted on the photo.

She had remembered Oliver's reluctance to be in it. She remembered pouting at him and telling him not to be a spoilsport. He had rolled his eyes.

But he had joined the photo.

Had he liked her since then? Had it been before then?

He was looking at her in the photo with the slightest of smiles.

Mai's heart panged. She liked Oliver as a friend. She was flattered he liked her as more than that. She was glad she had given him a second chance to explain himself.

But did she truly _like_ like him back?

Only time would tell.

* * *

**Author's note: Staying at home all the time truly sucks. So does changing antidepressants. One more chapter left of this, I don't have enough plot ideas for it to be longer so... But I keep going through my WIPs and thinking I should actually finish some of them...**

**10 reviews and I'll upload the next chapter!**


	4. Chapter 4

Friday lunchtime came all too quickly for Mai's liking. She had chosen to hide in one of the study rooms to do her homework while waiting for Masako to join her.

"Do you want the good news or the bad news?"

Mai looked up to see her friend in the doorway.

"The bad news? No. Just tell me the good news."

"The good news is I am an amazing friend."

Mai winced.

"And the bad news?"

"I think Yasuhara and Gene are going to make a sickeningly cute couple. And I can't stand it."

Despite her words, Masako was smiling. She sat down opposite Mai and dumped her bag down on the floor.

"You mean it?" Mai asked.

"So I had a casual chat with Yasuhara. He said many things that lead me to believe that he might be interested in Gene and also that he thinks he has no chance."

"Lead you to believe? That's not very concrete—"

"I'll give you some quotes, shall I?"

Mai indicated with her hand that Masako should go right ahead.

"Okay, 'Yeah, Gene is really cute', I quote. And 'anyone would be lucky to get with him'—"

"That's just nice stuff to say about a friend, that doesn't mean—"

"Let me finish, damn it! He also went on to say 'I think Gene was jealous that I'm going on a date with Mai' and 'but if he fancied Mai, he would have just asked her'. I brought the conversation around to the other obvious option and he went bright red. 'He can't fancy me' and all that."

"So at the very least, he's flattered by the idea."

"I think he has at least a crush on Gene. I mean, it makes sense. Gene is handsome and a genuinely nice guy. If only Yasuhara had some self-confidence."

Mai rolled her eyes.

"Wow, it's almost like the media bombards us with images of perfection and Yasuhara fails to copy those in some way," she deadpanned. "Not all of us are beauties, Masako. We can't all have perfect skin."

"I take your point, but I don't appreciate your sass."

"Oh come off it, Masako. Gene could have whoever he wants."

"I mean statistically speaking, he can't if he's gay."

Mai let her face drop to the table.

"You know what I mean," she moaned. "It's easy for you to say these things, you're gorgeous. Yasuhara is a lovely guy, genuinely, but if you went by looks alone, no one is going to pick him over Gene."

"You think so? Or are you just saying that because you're attracted to Oliver?"

Mai kept her head resting on the table so that Masako did not see her blush. Masako did not choose to push the issue.

"Either way, I think your Saturday date needs to be re-thought out."

"Yeah, I think I might be conveniently late and have Gene turn up in my place," Mai said.

"Yeah, maybe you could go out with Oliver instead."

"Maybe I will!" Mai exclaimed, sitting up suddenly. "Maybe I will. Got a problem with that?"

Masako raised an eye at Mai's sudden aggression.

"You okay?"

"Sorry." Mai put her head in her hands. "It's been an emotionally exhausting week."

"Yeah… Nothing a good snog wouldn't fix."

"No one even says snog any more Masako, what are you… I give up…"

Masako laughed.

"Come on, we've got class."

* * *

**Oliver: Are you sure this is going to work?**

**Mai: I mean if it doesn't, I'm blaming Masako.**

**Oliver: That doesn't fill me with confidence. Gene might be a git, but he's still my brother.**

**Mai: He's not a git. I think his intentions were good!**

**Oliver: I would have gone with meddlesome, but sure.**

**Mai: He wanted you to be happy!**

**Oliver: He didn't even know if you liked me.**

**Mai: Yeah, but I do like you. And besides, we don't know 100% that Yasuhara likes Gene. But we're doing this anyway.**

**Oliver: If it all goes wrong, I reserve the right to say 'I told you so'. **

**Mai: And if it goes right, you have to take me to prom.**

**Mai: Oliver?**

**Mai: You don't have to…**

**Mai: I'm sorry.**

**Oliver: Deal.**

* * *

"Gene? What are you doing here?" Yasuhara asked.

Gene's mouth dropped open as he looked up from his book.

"I was supposed to meet Noll here. He said you wouldn't be here… He said he checked so we wouldn't intrude on... Intrude on you and Mai. Because he doesn't want to see that, obviously."

Yasuhara sat down opposite Gene in the relatively busy cafe.

"Well, I can wait here with you, can't I?"

"Sure."

Gene swallowed hard.

"You've been avoiding me," Yasuhara said.

"I haven't—"

"Do you fancy me?"

Gene cringed.

"I should leave," he said quickly, closing his book and refusing to look up at Yasuhara.

"Don't leave, please."

"I don't want to interrupt your date with—"

"I'm only going on a date with her because of your dumb plan to set up your brother!" Yasuhara exclaimed. "Not because I want to date her. Not that she's not lovely but…"

Gene continued to pack away his belongings.

"Gene! Please!"

"Look, don't you get that this hurts me?" Gene retorted, his voice full of anguish.

"It doesn't need to hurt you! Are you not listening to me? I don't want to date Mai!"

"But—"

"I'd rather date you," Yasuhara said, his voice softened. "If you want to…"

Gene dropped his bag.

"What? Really?"

"Yes, really."

"But what about Mai?"

"We tell her the truth."

"But she'll be—"

"Relieved you two idiots are now on the same page," Mai interrupted.

Yasuhara and Gene both looked around to see her looming over their table.

"Mai!"

"Now, which one of you would like to apologise to Oliver for playing games with his feelings?"

"I—"

"Please don't make them do that," Oliver said, appearing behind Mai. "How about we all just move on? They could buy me some tea, that would be apology enough."

"Noll!" Gene exclaimed. "I—"

"Am a massive idiot that shouldn't butt into his brother's private life?"

"Not the words I would have chosen but—"

"Why don't you go and buy us all some tea?" Mai suggested. "And then maybe we can have a nice afternoon."

"Sure."

Gene hopped up and ran to join the back of the queue for the barista.

Oliver and Mai sat down.

"You knew?" Yasuhara asked.

"We worked it out," Mai answered.

"No, you worked it out," Oliver said.

"Either way," Mai waved a hand dismissively, "you two maybe should have just talked to me and Oliver? Rather than this bullshit?"

"Yeah, I think Gene has read too many romance novels," Yasuhara said. "Or seen too many romance animes."

Mai and Yasuhara both looked to Oliver for confirmation. He shrugged.

"Is Ouran High School Host Club a romance?"

"You mean the epitome of reverse harem anime where the main character dresses as a boy for the majority of it?" Mai asked. "Yeah. He's definitely not projecting there at all."

"What are you guys talking about?" Gene asked as he put a tray down on the table.

"Who's your favourite in Ouran?"

"What do you mean?"

"Which boy would you pick?"

Gene narrowed his eyes at them all as they sat down.

"Tamaki? Why?"

"Called it. Totally projecting," Mai said with a laugh.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you two dating now or what?"

Mai coughed in a way that sounded suspiciously like 'projecting'.

"We will be going on a few dates to test our compatibility," Oliver stated.

"Only you would put it like that," Yasuhara said.

Mai slipped her hand into Oliver's.

"Yeah, but its fine," she said. "Now, no more drama. I don't think I can take another week as emotionally stressful as this one."

Gene laughed.

"Well, it's not like we're going to be thrown into a global pandemic and all quarantined in our houses or anything. So I think we'll be fine."

**The End.**

* * *

**Author's note:**** This is the final chapter. It has not been edited. I'm tired.**

**Yesterday, I spent a lot of time trying to work how to better engage with my readers. After reading some reviews, I'm severely demoralised about it. I don't know what to do any more...**


End file.
